V8, turbo on track for ‘Green Challenge’ glory

Forget hybrid cars and electric vehicles; two of Australia’s fastest, thirstiest cars are on target to win a controversial 3000km economy run from Darwin to Adelaide.

October 26 2009

Toby Hagon

HSV Maloo

HSV Maloo

HSV Maloo

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The two thirstiest, most powerful cars in the field are on track to win the Global Green Challenge, an environmentally focussed fuel economy run from Darwin to Adelaide.

Two of the fastest cars ever produced in Australia � the HSV Maloo R8 and Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo � are first and second in the 14-car �Eco Challenge� field.

They�re on track to beat a fleet of fuel misers and even an electric car, which must be followed by a fuel sucking truck that�s likely to use as much fuel as six of the fuel misers fighting for line honours.

But it�s not because the V8-powered Maloo and turbocharged Falcon are the most frugal in the field.

Instead, it�s because the event ranks teams according to their fuel use in comparison to the official, Government-supplied rating that goes on the fuel label.

Cars that use less than their claim as a percentage will be crowned the green car winners.

The HSV Maloo�s claimed fuel average is 15.1L/100km, yet the high performance ute used 64 per cent less than that on the first day (5.34L/100km) of the 3000km event and 47 per cent less than that on the second day (8.00L/100km).

Driver and journalist Joshua Dowling is cautious about the results. �While our figure looks impressive, we aren't getting too excited yet,� he wrote in a daily blog on HSV�s website.

�For safety reasons, event organisers aren't brimming [filling the tanks to the top so you can see fuel in the filler neck] each car until the last day.�

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The Falcon XR6 Turbo has a claimed average of 11.7L/100km but is using almost 40 per cent less, with consumption of 7.3L/100km on day one and 7.1L/100km on day two.

Event spokesman Mike Drewer says the early results are both �surprising and interesting�.

�It�s probably a surprising result but I think it�s got to be � looked at in combination with the overall fuel use that�s being achieved, particularly by the Ford ECOnetic and the Mini D, which are doing very well,� said Drewer.

�They�ve also got to do an urban cycle in Adelaide,� he said, suggesting the thirstier cars might struggle in the stop-start of city traffic rather than the highway running that makes up most of the course.

The most frugal car in the field � the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic � has a claimed fuel figure of 3.7L/100km and is using less than 3.2L/100km on the predominantly open road route.

However, that�s an improvement of only 15 per cent over its official claimed fuel figure, meaning that while the diesel powered Fiesta will likely use the least fuel on the event � possibly less than 100 litres across the 3000km course � it�s unlikely to win the challenge.

Similarly, the diesel powered Mini Coopers are posting impressive fuel use of as little as 3.3L/100km but are only posting improvements of as much as 15 per cent.

The only electric car in the field � there�s a separate World Solar Challenge running in conjunction with the Eco Challenge � is the US-made Tesla roadster.

However, the Tesla needs to be followed by a trayback truck carrying a high-voltage generator that needs to charge the electric car every 350km.

The truck is expected to consume more than 20 litres of fuel per 100km � triple that of the HSV Maloo � and around 700 litres over the 3000km course.

And that�s before you consider the diesel used by the generator as it charges the Tesla.